Scattergunning: Fun for the Whole Family

Shotgunning: The Art and Science, by Bob Brister (1977)

One of the keen sources of pleasure to the firearms aficionado is sharing the shooting sports with their family and friends. In no part of the shooting world does this desire come together with its realization any better than in the shotgun sports, whether clay games or hunting. Bob Brister is one of the best teachers of the budding or experienced shotgunner, who wonders, “what happened?” when they miss.

Brister covers all the shooting problems because he knows, from experience, what works and what doesn’t. Every conceivable problem of the shotgunner is covered, from mounting the gun correctly, to pointing properly, swinging, proper lead, that is, lead as in forward allowance past the target, and proper follow-through. All of these elements seem simple when discussed by Mr. Brister, however, any scattergunner will be quick to admit (well, maybe not ;> ) that they need some help in connecting with some targets.

A shotgun, for those who are wondering, is a smooth bored shoulder arm that normally fires a handful of pellets or shot, rather than a single projectile, as a rifle does. The object of shotgunning is to shoot wildfowl on the fly or small game like rabbits on the run, or to participate in clay games, like Skeet, Trap, Sporting Clays, Five Stand and the like.

These clay games use a small clay disk (hence the name) called a clay pigeon as a target, which bursts with a satisfying visible spray of powder when properly broken. The Clay Birds are launched from a device called a trap. The difference between the various games is generally about where the shooter stands in relation to the trap and the direction and flight characteristics of the clay targets. Do they fly across your front or do they fly away from you? Are they flying high or clipping the tops of the tall grass? These sort of variations make clay games what they are; and, incidentally, may tend to summon forth volcanic bursts of harsh language when the shooter believes he should have connected but didn’t. :>

By my observation, shotgunning seems to be the most family friendly of the shooting sports with both men and women eagerly participating, especially in the clay games.

Anyway, Bob Brister did a lot of research for this volume, to teach shooters how to properly lead the clay pigeons. The lead means the shot must be released forward of the current position of the bird to be where it will be when the shot string coincides with the bird's flight path; otherwise it will be a miss. The lead is thus one of the most critical elements of successful smoothbore shooting yet one of the more difficult concepts to convey verbally. You can tell that by how I stuttered over the previous sentence trying to describe "lead."

Bob patterned shotguns extensively, learning where they shot – not so obvious if you think it may actually fire above, below, to the right, or the left of the apparent sight picture, which is properly above the barrel. So, if you would follow Brister’s instructions, go pattern your shotgun and find out if it shoots where you’re looking. If not, get it adjusted. Then come back.

Once you are sure the shotgun is shooting where you are looking, then you can take advantage of Brister’s advice on how to lead a target. Brister developed his data by shooting at moving sheets of paper towed behind the car his wife was driving. These were the long sheets like butcher paper. See what I mean about togetherness? Brister tried all sorts of combinations, varying the speed of the target, the distance to the target and so on to develop some hints on where to shoot depending on your relationship to the target. Once you know these concepts and practice them you are bound to become a more successful wing shot.

Brister’s style is chatty and humorous, which makes the reading fun as well as informative. Because the book is fairly old, it does not consider newer laws that have mandated against lead shot being used in shooting waterfowl. Typical shotguns today have easily changed choke tubes; also, making the shotgun even more versatile than it was before. Illustrated with photographs and drawings. Highly recommended.

Remember, the family that shoots together, stays together!

Also recommended: Shotguns, by Keith

Thanks for reading!

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